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It has been speculated recently that Arsenal are going to spend big this summer, having learnt their lesson from before. However, what is more likely is that Arsene is going to spend as he usually did in the past – buy at reasonable prices and hope for the best.

Trying to buy the best players at reasonable prices is next to impossible, but as Football Manager players know, there is always the possibility of investing heavily on one or two world class players and then buying a couple more free agents with the pocket change left.

In this article we will look at 3 extremely cheap, but quality options, which Arsene can buy this summer to improve Arsenal’s squad depth. We have already done the scouting, so Arsene, if you are reading, please go for these players since this is a unique opportunity and it is just like being given an offer code completely for free.

Diego Laxalt

At the end of the season Arsene Wenger started playing with three centre backs and two wing-backs in a shift to formation which surprised everyone. The 3-4-3 was popularized this season by Conte and soon managers like Pochettino and Mourinho followed suit.

Arsene was the last to jump on the train, but it seems like he made the change at the right point of the season since it was early enough for some improved performances and crucially for an FA Cup trophy.

That brings us to our first transfer target, Diego Laxalt. The Uruguayan is still only 24, currently impresses for Genoa in Serie A and can play left wing-back or left winger. He is quick, pacey, difficult to shake off when marking, times his tackles to perfection and can deliver a killer cross.

He would be ideal for Arsenal’s new formation as Wenger would have two quality outlets down the wings with the Ox on the right and Laxalt on the left. In addition, he will also come quite cheaply as his current market value is no more than €8 million.

Ilija Nestorovski

Nestorovski is a natural goal scorer who can be considered as a late bloomer. He was unearthed by Palermo’s scouts last year after they saw him scoring for fun in the Croatian second division.

You would think that it is a big step up to move from the Croatian second tier to Italy’s Serie A, but for Ilija, it wasn’t. He was Palermo’s top goal scorer this season, notching 11 goals and 3 assists in a frankly rotten side which was relegated as early as April.

His current value is no more than €4 million and he is arguably the smartest purchase in Europe right now with the likes of Everton, Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina following his situation.

Etrit Berisha

Berisha is Albania’s and Lazio’s first choice keeper and he has had a terrific season. He is currently valued at only €6 million which makes him a bargain even if his price goes as high as €20 million in today’s inflated market.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina international is only 24 and was widely reported to be the best left back in the German league last season.

And if you look at this YouTube compilation here, you can see he looks like some player:

Of course, football compilations of players on show their best bits and I’m sure if you made a video on Alexander Hleb then you could make him look like Messi, but at the same time there are several things you cannot discount about this guy.

The first is that he is an absolute beast!

Look at the size oft his guy! He clearly has a good touch and decent pace but he is so imposing on the pitch! A justified criticism of Arsenal over the past decade is that as a team we’re a bit lightweight and too intimidated by more physical sides but we definitely wouldn’t be with this guy in the team.

He is well built and looks very strong. And what I like about him (apart from the assists and goals that you’ll see on the video) is that he doesn’t seem to give a fuck when it comes to tackling. No hesitation, no dilly-dallying – he gets stuck in and shows the other team who’s boss. He sees the ball and he goes and wins it, no questions asked.

Obviously he is a relative unknown to most Arsenal fans (as we seem to be ignorant to other leagues in Europe) and he was clearly free but I’m excited about him. A solid, reliable and young player who I’m sure can integrate well into this Arsenal side.

And having been at Schalke for the last 5 years he is fluent in German and will get on well with Per Mertesacker, Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Özil and of course, Granit Xhaka.

And slightly off topic, but I can’t be the only one who thinks he looks like a bigger version of Lucas Perez?!

Hector Bellerin has been at the center of rumors and speculation for some time now, especially with regards to his future at Arsenal. If you look at the latest Premier League lines, it is easy to conclude that Hector might be heading back to Europe soon.

Hector left Barcelona in 2011 when he chose to join the Gunners. Ever since then, he has had to work really hard to force his way into the first team. Additionally, he has become a full Spain International.

Now, intense speculation about Hector’s next move has begun to emerge, with many voices linking the full back with Manchester City and Barcelona. Wenger cannot afford to lose a talent like Hector.

And the fans have rightly begun to murmur in anxiety about Hector’s possible departure. And it isn’t like they do not have good reasons to worry about the Defender. Barcelona hasn’t come out to justify any of the rumours floating around about their interest in Hector.

However, they haven’t denied the rumours either, and according to most European Football analysts, there is a good chance that Barcelona is looking at Hector as a good replacement for Dani Alves.

A product of La Masia, Arsenal’s bid to keep Hector in place will be complicated by the fact that interest for the player extends beyond Barcelona. Manchester City has also begun lustfully gazing at Hector.

City Boss Pep Guardiola is a highly enticing coach for any player looking to make their mark in the football arena. And if all these rumours and speculative conversations were not enough, some outright statements of intent have been made in recent days.

The Barcelona Vice-President was recently heard making conversation about the potential possessed by players that leave and then come back to the club. He talked up the importance of developing players, releasing them to go find their fortunes elsewhere and then pulling them back once they had garnered enough experience.

Hector Bellerin is only 21-years-old, and everyone agrees that he is one of the most exciting fullbacks to play the game. Having triumphed over Theo Walcott for the title of fasted Arsenal Player, Hector’s technique is what you would expect from an ex-Barcelona youth product.

With an outrageous pace and plenty of potential to grow, Hector’s chances of success are strengthened by the fact that he has such an impressive attitude. Unlike some other premier league players within his age range, you do not need to teach Hector how to defend.

At this point, you would think that Arsenal fans wouldn’t have much to fear. After all, theirs is hardly the team that Hector joined five years ago. New TV deals and sponsorships have made financial issues a thing of the past, what with cash flow having recently reached record levels.

There is no offer that can be made to Hector by any club in the world which Arsenal cannot match, at least in terms of wages. Of course, they have struggled to win trophies, and Hector couldn’t be faulted for running off to a side he thought had a higher chance of prospering.

It is up to Wenger to make his team more appealing for Hector than Barcelona and Manchester City.

Finally, it seems that Arsenal are going to sign some much needed numbers to a squad which is suffering with injuries to key players – and those players are Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna and Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia.

While the signings are welcome considering the state of the current squad and the fact that Arsenal fans pay the highest ticket prices in the country (amongst other things such as the lack of success at the club in the last 12 seasons), is this enough?

We’ve been umming and ahhing for weeks now over the signing of Mustafi, seemingly unable to agree on a suitable fee because, let’s face it, we’re tight fisted. We look set to bring him in now but he would have been useful for the Liverpool game where we lost 3 valuable points.

And Lucas Perez. I will admit that I hadn’t heard of the guy before reading Arseblog this morning - and I have to say after watching the goals and assists compilation in the aforementioned post I’m not really that impressed.

Apparently Everton have been tracking the player and were all set to buy him and that pretty much sums it up really.

Is this really the world class striker we’ve been crying out for? Let’s be perfectly honest, it’s pretty debatable if he’s even as good as Olivier Giroud!

Arsene Wenger has been saying for ages that we’re “active in the market” and has been making out there’s this big plan to make Arsenal a success. But are you telling me that this big “masterplan” involves playing poker over a few quid for a German defender who doesn’t even start for the national team and a player we’ve effectively poached from Everton? No disrespect to the blue half of Merseyside but come on! Lucas Perez is not a player any of the big teams in the Premier League would be looking at.

Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have been conning the fans for the best part of a decade and it’s still happening now. We’ve got the most money in the league yet we still shop in the bargain section of the supermarket. £17.1 million? When we’re in an era where £25 million gets you an average player and where a headless chicken like Raheem Sterling costs £49 million, do you honestly think Lucas Perez is the answer to all our problems?

I suspect that most Arsenal fans will be won over, just by the simple fact we’ve actually remembered how to spend money and bring in two more players.

But there will be the few who realise that this is still all a big joke. We have the capability to bring in the very best but instead we sign players who I’m sure are decent on their day, but not world beaters – and certainly not players who would win you a Premier League title or Champions League.

We hear time and time again that Arsene Wenger is “active” in the transfer market and we’re looking out for players but there are just no suitable ones out there.

So do Arsene even have a scouting network?

What are these guys getting paid for? There are thousands of players around the world, playing in different leagues and countries and you’re telling me that there are NO PLAYERS out there that could improve our squad?

It’s an absolute farce.

What is the point of Arsenal except to finish 4th, seriously?

We apparently have a hell of a lot of money available at our disposal yet we don’t spend it. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not expecting Arsenal to go out and spend £300 million on players – I’m not that stupid – but spend some of it and so some ambition!

We hear the same old excuses:

Players are too expensive.

The players just aren’t out there / available.

We are in a different market to the rest of Europe.

Caretaker Dave left the sprinklers on so we need to save money for our water bill.

I mean it is ridiculous. Arsenal fans pay the highest ticket prices in the league yet get a team which has no motivation to win the major trophies.

It’s pretty much like going to a Michelin Star restaurant and getting soggy chips and mushy peas dumped on your plate.

Arsene Wenger is a great man, no doubt. He brought the glory days back to Arsenal – but we are stuck in a vicious cycle which will never change.

Arsene only has to answer to the owners and as long as he makes them a profit every season (by getting 4th in the league) then they are over the moon.

There needs to be huge changes but this isn’t going to happen for a long long time.